Discuss Humboldt’s encounter with the ‘Other’ in this narrative. Lizzie Milne.

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Presentation on theme: "Discuss Humboldt’s encounter with the ‘Other’ in this narrative. Lizzie Milne."— Presentation transcript:

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Discuss Humboldt’s encounter with the ‘Other’ in this narrative. Lizzie Milne

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Who is the self and who is the other? Stuart Hall, in: Representation. Cultural Representations and Signifying Practises (1997). “Meaning is what gives us our sense of identity, of who we are and with whom we ‘belong’ – so it is tied up with questions of how culture is used to mark out and maintain identity within and difference between groups [...]” (p.3) This ‘Other’ is often a stereotypical, one-dimensional image of comparison – using perceived difference as its primary marker, in a reductive way. Self is the European set in comparison against the unknown. (foreign)

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Humboldt’s Character within the novel “Kehlmann offers a balanced impression of the real Humboldt’s ambivalent status as exploiter, colonial Stooge, abolitionist and proto- environmentalist” (Taberner, p.258) In some respects he is just of pawn for Germany comical stance Very factually represented Rejection of this period of travel writing – factual as apposed to Romanised

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‘Other’ as disorderly/ backwards: Slavery: “His disgust at the persistence of slavery is genuine, an emblem of his Enlightenment conviction that reason inhabits all men”(Traberner,p.258) Limited grasp on the way such as reason and freedom are culturally determined meaning many of his actions are lost in translation “Humboldt erstand drei Männer und liess ihnen die Ketten abnehmen. Sie begriffen nicht” (p.86) Buys slaves to free them but cannot understand their reaction. “Einer fragte, wohin sie sollten.” (p.86)